Theatre - telling the story v. attention hogging

[HappyHermit]

My first thread here. It involves my special interest, but it's not entirely about that. It's actually a question about autistic v. NT-behaviour.

My special interest is theatre. As an aside, I suspect acting has helped me with social interaction, even though successful in-person social interaction still means 'faking it' in my world.

BUT. While I like to focus on truthful expression and characterisation to the best of my ability and on the point of the play, I have always been under the impression that most people are there for the purpose of stage hogging. And I get the feeling that it's getting worse. Or perhaps I'm getting entirely too fed up with it.

I'm not denying that performing can give you an ego boost if it goes well (and drag you down if it doesn't), and I don't necessarily have a problem with that. If you got nothing out of it, you wouldn't be doing it, especially unpaid and on your own time.

However, I don't see why acting means you absolutely must try to hog the attention in ways that go well beyond what the role requires - and that might actually hurt it, if looked at from an artistic perspective.

I've been a member of several different groups over time, and it never gets any better. When most of the other people were very young, I blamed it on (extended) adolescence. But as I've got older, the groups I have worked with included people who haven't been teenagers in a long time. And all I can say is that there are even more stage hogs around now than there used to be, at least in my perception.

I find it frustrating because it is alienating me from something I truly love.

I have never come across anyone in amateur theatre who was or whom I suspected to be on the autism spectrum, so I have no comparison. I would suspect that attention hogging for the sake of attention hogging wouldn't suit someone on the autism spectrum, though I may be wrong.

My question is: is this an NT thing? This bad case of the me-me-mes, given half a chance, and at the expense of the thing they purport to be doing, which should be telling the story of the play? What's the logic behind that? Why the effortless switch from telling a story and telling it well to 'look how great I am!', without feeling the need to even justify it?

Or, to turn this around, are people on the autism spectrum not just more likely, but seemingly the only ones interested in the art and not the noise (e.g. trying to get one's small-scale 15 minutes)?

I would be very interested in your opinions and similar or related experiences. I really don't want to believe that people are really that shallow and self-centred, but I'm open to it.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I have no idea about it being an NT thing or an ASD thing. I suspect it has more to do with the individual, or rather, maybe with the types of individuals who go into amateur theater.
Someone I knew gave some informal acting classes. It involved improvisation. And the people he praised the most were the people who chose to be "extras" to not hog the limelight. He complained about not enough people improvising quiet background roles.

 

[AsheSkyler]

Some people just have to be the center of attention and I guess an activity would be more prone draw those kind of people no matter where they are on or off the spectrum. Just comes with the territory I guess. I have no doubt there are plenty of sincere actors with a passion for the production than their share of the lime light, but there are also plenty of prima donnas and divas out there.

 

[Graelwyn]

I was into amateur dramatics when I was younger, and have had a love of theatre since a young age. I both wanted to be good at it, but I cannot deny, I wanted to stand out as being 'special' too, I suppose. I don't think I wanted to be the centre of attention however. I went into stage management later on for a period of time, which I really enjoyed. I found that once I reached adulthood, I did not have the confidence for the stage anymore.

 

[Spiller]

My question is: is this an NT thing? This bad case of the me-me-mes, given half a chance, and at the expense of the thing they purport to be doing, which should be telling the story of the play? What's the logic behind that? Why the effortless switch from telling a story and telling it well to 'look how great I am!', without feeling the need to even justify it?

Or, to turn this around, are people on the autism spectrum not just more likely, but seemingly the only ones interested in the art and not the noise (e.g. trying to get one's small-scale 15 minutes)?

I'm not into Acting, though I admire your bravery in putting yourself in the spotlight, definitely.
But if this question can be said to be equally valid out in the world, then I'd say Autistics are mainly concerned with getting the task right, while NT's are primarily vieing for social status and/or acceptance within their peer group.

I wanted to stand out as being 'special' too

Having spent a lifetime feeling invisible myself, the idea of being 'special' is very attractive; I can't stand praise or being in the limelight, but give me a superpower and a mask.. (Don't tell anyone, but I'm Spiderman!)

 

[Spinning Compass]

I am in amateur theater and with few exceptions I have not run into the behavior you describe. I think it depends a lot on who is directing. There is one director and one cast member I will not work with ever again, because this person repeatedly did something to me on stage during rehearsal that could have caused physical injury to me and other cast members, and the director did not see it and chose to ignore it when it was called to his attention. I also think it depends very much on the age/maturity level of your fellow cast members and also on what the play is about. I have learned to be leery of plays that focus heavily on sexual/raunchy comedy, as that tends to bring out undesirable behaviors among the more immature members.

In our last production we did have a problem with three kids who were constantly hogging the spotlight--what is called upstaging--and I doubt very much we will see those three in future productions. Ours is a small group and word gets around quickly. Also I suspect that budding "prima donnas" tend to depart rather quickly for more "prestigious" surroundings. Our theater is old and shabby and we operate on a frayed shoestring. So most of the people who are involved are involved for the love of the craft.

 

[HappyHermit]

Thank you for your replies. I suspected and agree that what I'm seeing is caused by a mix of things, not all of them NT- v. ASD-related. At the same time, Spiller's comment, "... I'd say Autistics are mainly concerned with getting the task right, while NT's are primarily vieing for social status and/or acceptance within their peer group", really resonates with me and, I think, plays a part in what I'm seeing with regard to stage hogging.

It's been interesting to hear others say they haven't encountered this problem much, when it has been so prevalent in the many different groups I have worked with over the years. Still, I guess it could just be bad luck on my part, or perhaps there are cultural differences either enabling or preventing such behaviours in different settings. I have experienced drama training in different cultural settings and find it comparatively lax where I currently am, and my current location is also where all the adult groups I have been part of are based. Perhaps that's also a factor.

It isn't really that I don't feel appreciated as someone who doesn't play things up if doing so doesn't serve the play, the scene or the exercise, it's that I end up feeling that we're purporting to do one thing (telling a story) and doing another (giving a platform to self-centred grandstanding) at the expense of what we claim to be doing. I love the former and hate the latter.

No real solution here, but it's been good to vent a bit and to get some feedback.

 

[Beetlejuice-Obsessed]

My thoughts are that a lot of NT's are not secure in themselves, and many of them may not be sure they are doing a good performance unless they go that extra mile. I have a cousin who is mostly an NT and she can be pretty shallow, but only because she has self insecurities about not being good enough in certain things. Like she didn't eat meat for several years because she was afraid she would get too fat and then guys wouldn't like her anymore. So she gave up her favorite food.

I always kind of wished to be in theatre but never did it because I wanted to go home and play video games instead of stay at the school and practice for something. But I have been in a few theatre productions and I noticed that many of the more insecure people in my groups did push themselves further than I did.